You are here

The Chinese government convened the First World Buddhist Forum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in mid-April, but chose not to invite the Dalai Lama, according to a senior official quoted in an April 13 Xinhua report. Qi Xiaofei, Vice President of the China Religious Culture Communication Association, explained at an April 12 press conference that the Dalai Lama was not invited to the Forum because he would "surely pose a really disharmonious note to the general harmonious tone of the Forum." Most Tibetans regard the Dalai Lama as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Chinese government convened the First World Buddhist Forum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in mid-April, but chose not to invite the Dalai Lama, according to a senior official quoted in an April 13 Xinhua report. Qi Xiaofei, Vice President of the China Religious Culture Communication Association, explained at an April 12 press conference that the Dalai Lama was not invited to the Forum because he would "surely pose a really disharmonious note to the general harmonious tone of the Forum." Most Tibetans regard the Dalai Lama as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.

Instead of the Dalai Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, the boy whom the Chinese government installed as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995, spoke on April 13 in what may be his first appearance before an international audience, according to reports dated the same day in Xinhua and by the Associated Press (AP). Gyaltsen Norbu spoke in the Tibetan language to some 1,000 monks, nuns, and scholars from more than 30 countries, AP reported. "Defending the nation and working for the people is a solemn commitment Buddhism has made to the nation and society," he reportedly told the audience, according to an official translation of the remarks made available to journalists.

In May 1995, the Dalai Lama announced that he recognized then six-year old Gedun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnated Panchen Lama, but the State Council declared the announcement "illegal and invalid." Chinese security officials then took Gedun Choekyi Nyima and his parents into custody and have kept them incommunicado since that time. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) recommended on September 30, 2005, that the Chinese government "allow an independent expert to visit and confirm Gedun Choekyi Nyima's well-being.”

The State Council subsequently installed Gyaltsen Norbu as the reincarnated Panchen Lama; the appointment continues to stir widespread resentment among Tibetans.

For additional information about the Panchen Lama issue and religious freedom for Tibetan Buddhists, see the CECC 2005 Annual Report.